Deliverance

by Adrienne Monson

  “You only drank from me a few nights ago.” Tafari approached and held her elbows. “Is my blood no longer substantial?”

  “No, I don’t think it’s that.” She looked up into his silvery blue eyes. “I’m pretty sure this is an indicator that Samantha isn’t doing well. I’m hungry a lot more because she’s weak or hurt or starving.”

  Tafari’s eyebrows drew together. “But I thought the human servant link only worked one way. That you would draw from the link, not that she would be able to do the same.”

  She shook her head in confusion. “I don’t know what to tell you. We’re entering unknown territory here. Vampires live just fine if their human servant dies, but I don’t know what normally happens if a human servant is being . . . tortured, or something.”

  His strong hands tightened over her arms. “You do not know that she is hurt.”

  “You’re right. I have no idea what’s going on right now. All I do know is that she’s slowly pulling energy from our bond. I imagine she doesn’t even know she’s doing it, which makes me think it’s because she’s in dire circumstances.”

  Leisha knew that when Tafari pulled her into his arms, it was meant to comfort, but she saw the look of concern he was trying to hide from her.

  “We are doing all that we can.” He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt. “For now, that will have to be enough.” Holding his wrist before her mouth, Tafari stroked the side of her face. “You are not taking too much. I recover quickly.”

  Before she leaned down to his wrist, Leisha quirked a brow. “I guess since you’re offering this so casually, it means this won’t be used as foreplay this time?”

  He barked out a husky laugh. “You know how much I enjoy this. But no, not tonight. I would still like to make sure Rinwa is all right. It is not like her to neglect herself so much.”

  Leisha made a noise of agreement in her throat. “I feel like I haven’t had much alone time with Liam, so this will work for everyone.” She moved toward Tafari’s arm. His blood seemed to call out to her in a way that no one else’s ever had. She couldn’t help but flick her tongue over the sensitive area first.

  “Leisha,” Tafari growled. “Do not tempt me, my love.”

  Without further ado, she bit down, her teeth tearing through his flesh and the rich, sweet blood sprang onto her tongue. Moaning at the ambrosia, she eagerly swallowed what she could before her husband’s fast-healing body closed up the wound.

  As she pulled away, Tafari gently stroked the side of her face. His expression was soft, and his eyes brimming with a tenderness that made her stop breathing.

  Slowly, his hand traveled to the back of her neck and he moved his mouth closer to hers. Leisha closed the distance and felt his full lips gently travel over her own before his tongue flicked out and entered her. She moaned again and wrapped her arms around him, pushing her body into his.

  Their tender kiss became harder, their breaths more shallow as they explored the depths of each other.

  “I think I found something!” Rinwa’s voice called from the other room.

  Reluctantly, they pulled apart. Leisha kept her head down, but glanced up at her husband. He had a half smile playing around the side of his lips. “It seems I cannot resist you.”

  Giggling, she gave him a quick peck on the lips and then left the room before they got carried away again.

  “What is it?” she asked as she sat next to Rinwa at the table.

  Liam was still lounging on the couch, but was studying the monitor with interest. Tafari stood behind Leisha’s chair as Rinwa explained.

  “This was some good stuff you brought back.” Their daughter was animated in a way that Leisha had never seen. It was almost like a girl who had just met a cute boy. “The backups on this hard drive show the direct link where everyone in the company reported to. It’s some innocuous place in Kansas that nobody would think anything of. From there, I was able to hack into their system. I know how many employees work in that building, their salaries, everything.” She sat back with a smug look spreading over her features.

  “Yes, but can you find where they’re keeping the vampires and Samantha?” Leisha leaned forward to see what Rinwa had up on the computer screen. There were six locations listed in alphabetical order, and they were scattered all over. It would take a lot of travel and time to physically investigate each one.

  With a big smile, Rinwa placed her index finger under the first location. “This one just reported that they received their large shipment almost three weeks ago. The date is about two days after the vampires were attacked. And the shipment is very large. This facility is also one of two that has some sort of research hospital listed in their records.”

  “Anchorage, huh?” Liam piped up from the couch. “It would be fun to visit Alaska. We’ve never been up that way before.”

  Rinwa minimized the window on the computer screen and pulled up a map so they could see the location. “The compound is southeast of the city, pretty close to that mountain range,” she said as she pointed.

  Studying the map, Leisha thought of several possible strategies. “I think we should fly into Canada and drive up from there.”

  “But that will take longer to reach the compound,” Tafari pointed out. “We will have to rent a specialized vehicle to drive through that terrain. Since it’s February, there must be a lot of snow that will slow us down even further.”

  “That’s true,” Leisha acknowledged. “But I just don’t want us to fly in too close to their facility where they’ll be on alert.”

  Rinwa shook her head. “I don’t think that will be a problem. After all, you’re supposed to be brilliant with disguises, right?” Her brow rose as if in challenge.

  “Of course I am. But I don’t know if they’ll have facial recognition scanning up there. I’m just trying to be cautious.”

  Pulling up an online search, Rinwa reported after a few minutes, “I don’t think we have any other option but to fly into Anchorage. It’s not like it’s an easy place to drive to, and it’s the largest airport nearby. The only way to get to those smaller airports is through Anchorage anyway.”

  “Well, that settles that.” Tafari straightened. “Please get the flight booked for us, Rinwa. You already know which aliases we will be using.” He turned to Liam. “The rest of us should pack up and make certain we get a good rest tonight.”

  Their son nodded and went back to the room he and Rinwa shared. Leisha stood and trailed behind him.

  Chapter 22

  Samantha couldn’t get enough of Nik. And not for the romantic reasons she had once fantasized about. It was simply because he was the only source of heat around for miles. Even though he was constantly snuggling with her and rubbing her extremities, her fingers and toes had taken on a distinct black color. Samantha had seen enough movies to know that she was so frostbitten that her toes and fingers would have to be amputated, but at the moment that didn’t scare her. She just wanted to be in someplace warm. She wanted to feel her nose and cheeks again.

  She should be grateful that a group of human guards had come after them. Once Nik had killed all six of them, he’d stripped them of their protective gear and had given Samantha two layers to wear. But she could only fit one pair of gloves on her hands at a time. She rotated with another pair so that the gloves she wasn’t wearing would warm up inside her jacket. She also had three pairs of socks on, which helped a little with the large boots, but the few times she’d take them off by the fire, she saw the state her toes were in.

  Nik stroked her back. “I should get more wood.”

  She made a sound of protest and whined a little when he left their little shelter made from pine trees. Sighing, she rolled over to check the meat roasting over the small fire. It was just starting to sizzle, drops of juice and fat dripping onto the embers below. The smell permeated the place in a pleasant way.

  If Sama
ntha wasn’t so cold and achy, she might have been able to enjoy this experience. She and Nik were getting along almost like they used to. Nik went hunting every day, drinking blood from the animals he captured, then sharing the meat with her after it was cooked.

  She noticed that he was warming up to her. He acted more and more protective of her every day. Maybe being in the wilderness is bringing out the caveman in him. She chuckled to herself at the thought. For some reason, she liked the way he took care of her, even if it was in a very old-fashioned manner.

  The vampire crawled through the opening with branches filling his arms. The wood wasn’t very dry, but it burned well enough and created a nice pine scent in the steamy shelter. After Nik placed some of the logs on the dying fire, he came back and wrapped himself around her from behind while she faced the fire.

  “Smells like our meal is almost ready.”

  Samantha leaned back against him and closed her eyes.

  “Sam?” he murmured.

  “Hmm?”

  “I think if you drink just a little of my blood it might heal your extremities.”

  Bolting upright, she turned to glare at the vampire. “I will never do that again.”

  “Even if it could save you?”

  “Never,” she repeated. “I don’t care what the circumstances are.”

  A low growl sounded in his throat.

  The corner of her mouth drew up. “You sounded like a wolf just now.”

  Nik blinked and then his eyes suddenly changed, as if they’d been out of focus but were back to normal. “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t frighten you.”

  Samantha waved the issue away with a chuckle. “Of course not. I know you’d never hurt me. It just threw me off.” She sent him a searching look. “It wasn’t like you.”

  The vampire gave one of his rare smiles, but Samantha thought it looked forced. “Don’t worry.” He pulled her back into him. “We should get to civilization soon enough. Once we’re there, everything will get back to normal.”

  Nestling into his warmth, she whispered, “What if I don’t want things to go back to the way they were?”

  Nik’s arms tightened. “We both know I’m no good for you, Samantha. We’re like the forces of good and evil trying to come together.”

  She scoffed. “Oh, please. You make it so much more dramatic than it really is. I’m immersed in this . . . other world whether you stick with me or not. I’m always surrounded by death and blood either way.”

  Her visions of being Death came to the forefront of her brain. She had every impulse to tell him about them, but couldn’t bring herself to vocalize everything that had happened to her in the compound. Nik didn’t enlighten her on what had happened to him, either, and she wondered if it was some unspoken agreement to not bring any of that up. Besides, if I tell him, he’ll probably just say it’s one more reason for us to keep away from each other.

  There was a potent silence as Nik rose and walked to the fire. He grabbed their hot meal and used his hands to tear the meat in two. He set the food on some boughs to cool, then faced her. “Can you honestly tell me that the incident in South America didn’t bother you?” He wiped his greasy fingers over his blackened sweats. “Because if we stay together, there will be more situations like that. I may try to target people who do bad things, but I’m still killing fathers, brothers, sons. That will never change.”

  Her stomach sank at the memory of that boy seeing his father dead and bloody. It had happened three years ago, but the image was still vivid in her mind. It was burned into her brain for the rest of her life.

  “I know.” It came out softly, but she knew Nik could hear it. “I can accept that, Nik. I’m older now, not the naïve teenager I was back then.” Her voice got stronger. “I’ve even helped lure out Leisha and Liam’s victims. I’ve been an accessory to countless murders.”

  Nik’s face burned red and, for a moment, Samantha actually was scared of what she saw in his expression. It was fierce, as if he were about to spring forward and attack at any moment. But he just stayed crouched by the cooling meat. “It’s not right for Leisha to pull you into her hunts.” He said it quietly, but with a coldness that made Samantha shiver.

  “No.” She shook her head. “You don’t understand. I chose to participate. I wanted to help.”

  He crept toward her until their faces were almost touching. “You didn’t want to help,” he accused. “You wanted to play pretend. You want to believe that you’re some hardened badass like Leisha, but I know you, Samantha.” His finger appeared out of nowhere and lightly stroked her chin, down her throat and along her collarbone.

  Heat pooled in her stomach and her breathing felt unsteady.

  His face softened, along with his tone. “You’re a generous, soft-hearted person. You want to see the good in everyone, Sam. That’s not a bad thing. Don’t fight who you really are.”

  Samantha’s chin trembled. “You haven’t been around, Nik. You didn’t see me grow up these last few years. You don’t know me as well as you’d like to think.”

  Nik leaned closer until she could feel his breath brushing across her lips. “You know better than to lie to a vampire.”

  Samantha could smell his breath and had a sudden impulse to taste his tongue. She’d never been so attracted to anyone else. With their heads so close together, she remembered how wonderful his kisses had felt. Parting her lips, she inched forward, watching his eyes. She could see he felt their chemistry. Her lips met his and he tasted just like she remembered. She deepened the kiss, thrilled by Nik’s passionate response. His arms pulled her close and he took over, angling his mouth over hers.

  Moaning into his mouth, Samantha burrowed closer, opening to him as much as she could. The kiss lasted for several heaven-filled moments before Nik pulled slowly away. His gaze penetrated her in a way that made her feel lightheaded.

  “Food’s ready,” he murmured.

  They didn’t talk as they ate. Once they finished, Nik pulled her into his arms again. Samantha enjoyed how he much he wanted to touch her lately.

  “We should get moving,” he suggested as he stroked her back. “We’ve got about seven hours until sunrise.”

  Chapter 23

  Leisha felt practically suffocated during the long flight. Her disguise was as an older, ailing woman. The combination of padding and latex made things pretty uncomfortable. She had used the same disguise as before for Tafari. Rinwa was wearing a long, dark brown wig and was sporting the colored contacts she happened to already have in her things. It was strange to look at her daughter and see dark chocolate eyes instead of Tafari’s silvery blue ones.

  Liam was in simple, child-trendy attire. The only thing she put on him to change his features were sunglasses, so no one could remember his dazzling green eyes against his mocha skin. He snuggled into Leisha at the beginning of the flight, but must have heard her thoughts of how hot and uncomfortable she was. He switched seats with Rinwa and asked Tafari to tell him more stories of Africa while he leaned into his father’s side.

  The turbulence and recycled air didn’t help Leisha’s discomfort, and she felt her shoulders easing as soon as she stepped off the plane. She was still stifled within her costume, but at least she wasn’t packed in like a sardine with a hundred other bodies anymore.

  It was a cinch to get the rental car, since all the arrangements had been made online. Rinwa opted to drive, a determined challenge sparkling in her eyes. Leisha understood as soon as they drove outside of town. The roads were packed with snow in the late evening.

  “One nice thing about being here is that no one questions the rental of a large, all-terrain vehicle,” Rinwa commented as she pulled off the road and headed toward their destination. If the icy roads had been difficult, getting off of them was almost impossible. Several times the back wheel got stuck and Leisha had to go outside and push.

  The going was
so slow that they didn’t reach the area of the compound until three in the morning. Leisha had removed all the latex coating her skin and had pulled out the weapons that had been hidden within their luggage.

  Rinwa stopped the car and Leisha got out so she could see and hear better.

  The hum of electricity sounded in the distance where she surmised the facility was. Light treads in the snow indicated wildlife creeping around here and there, but the vampire could detect no sentries keeping guard.

  Leisha climbed back into the vehicle, grateful that the heater was on high. “We’re clear as far as I can see. Maybe we should stop about fifty yards from the building and I’ll check again. Just to be sure.”

  From the back seat, Tafari glanced over at Liam. “Can you read anyone’s mind?”

  The boy shook his head. “I can’t feel anything out there, either.”

  Lips pursed to the side in puzzlement, Rinwa shift gears and continued forward.

  When they were closer to the compound, Leisha got out again and listened. After a few minutes, she sat back in the car and reported, “There’re definitely people inside, but none of them seem to be very active.”

  “You still don’t sense anyone outside or standing guard or anything?” Rinwa asked.

  Leisha shook her head.

  “I have a bad feeling about this,” Tafari murmured.

  Liam sat up a little straighter. “That’s a quote from Star Wars, isn’t it?”

  No one answered him as Rinwa drove the car all the way to the entrance. “May as well make things easy for us if no one’s around, right?” she said as she parked.

  They lined up in front of reinforced glass doors, Liam between Leisha and Tafari while Rinwa covered their rear. Leisha was almost overwhelmed by the smell of residual smoke.